Chrysler to equip some lower-trim models with Microsoft-based infotainment system

Chrysler Group will be featuring a Microsoft-based infotainment system at some of its lower-trim vehicles. The Windows-based infotainment system will have the same name as Chrysler's QNX-based infotainment system – Uconnect – but will operate on a different manner with Microsoft software. QNX Software Systems provides nearly all the software and other technology for Chrysler's Uconnect infotainment system.

This QNX-based infotainment system has received praises from critics for its ease of use, options and sophistication. The Windows-based infotainment system dubbed as Uconnect 5.0 was first installed in the Fiat 500L five-door hatchback in Europe in 2012. Uconnect 5.0 features a five-inch touch screen as well as support for multiple devices like smartphones, tablet computers and media players.

The Uconnect 5.0 installed in the Fiat 500L is capable of installing applications and services like Fiat's eco:Drive app, which provides engine and emissions data. Uconnect 5.0 infotainment system comes as standard in the 500L, which will be rolled out in the United States this summer.

Chrysler is now installing the Uconnect 5.0 infotainment system on lower-trim versions of the 2013 Ram 1500. Microsoft has said that the same system will be installed in Chrysler’s future products. A spokesman for Chrysler, however, said that the carmaker Chrysler is happy with its current QNX-based Uconnect system.

The light-duty full-size pickup truck segment is one that is clearly ultra-competitive. This did not prevent Ram Truck from introducing its latest addition to this segment, the 2013 Ram 1500. Aside from being the latest offering to come from the brand, it is also the first version of the brand’s well-known truck ever since the Ram badge began in 2011. According to Ram, this segment began as models that show acceptable efficiency were paired to brute capability.

It later evolved to vehicles that revealed execution and engineering. In effect, the full-size light-duty pickup trucks of today have a good mix of capability, configurations, desirable size, efficiency, quality, refinement, and technology. Regarding the handling and the ride, it is nearly on par with what many premium-oriented sedans can offer. However, no compromise was made when it came to the towing and the payload capabilities, both of which continue to be the best in its segment. The new 2013 Ram 1500 is able to display confidence given the excellent combination of qualities that include a great ride, brake-pedal feel, and responsive steering.

Ram has always been known for its body-on-frame full-size truck platform. Further, Ram trucks are designed, then engineered, and eventually executed to strike at the heart of what many fans and potential customers expect which is “Guts and Glory.” The 2013 Ram 1500 is but the newest innovation of this principle as it brings function and form to new heights. Indeed, the power-oriented capability, boldness, virtue, and valor, are at the top of its class.

It was also revealed that this new model is expected to be the most fuel-efficient in the segment. Further, the interactive, innovative, and functional technologies fitted to it are more than what its rivals offer. The capability of the new 2013 Ram 1500 will be better, or at the very least the same, as other models in the same class and will be more quality-validated as well.

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